PETALING JAYA: Bumi Armada Bhd has received financing commitments of up to US$75 million (RM317 million) from its major shareholder Usaha Tegas Sdn Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Mezzanine Equities N.V. (MENV).
The offshore oilfield services provider said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that the financing commitments were received by its wholly-owned subsidiaries Bumi Armada 98/2 Holdings Pte Ltd (BA98/2) and Armada Floating Gas Storage Malta Ltd (AFGSM).
The financing commitments comprise an up to US$30 million (RM128 million) three-year term loan facility pursuant to a facility agreement between MENV and BA98/2; and an up to US$45 million (RM189 million) six-year term loan facility commitment to AFGSM pursuant to a letter of offer from MENV.
The purpose of the BA98/2 facility is to fund Bumi Armada’s 30% equity interest in a joint-venture project with Shapoorji Pallonji Oil & Gas Pte Ltd in connection with the charter and operation of a floating production storage and offloading facility (”FPSO”) for deployment at NELP Block KG – DWN 98/2 Development Project Cluster-II field located on the east coast of Kakinada, offshore India.
Meanwhile, the AFGSM facility is intended for the refinancing of AFGSM’s existing US$45 million bridge loan facility for the floating storage unit Malta FSU and is expected to require security over certain project assets, including a mortgage over the Malta FSU and an assignment over AFGSM’s rights under the Malta FSU charter contract.
“A further announcement will be made upon AFGSM and MENV concluding the definitive financing and security documents for the AFGSM facility,” said Bumi Armada.
Malta FSU is currently servicing a long-term charter contract with the remaining charter period of 16 years with ElectroGas Malta Ltd. The Malta FSU has been operating since 2017.
Bumi Armada said the facilities are not expected to have any material effect on the group’s earnings for the financial year ending December 31, 2019.
At the noon break, Bumi Armada’s share price gained 1.5% to 34.5 sen with 32.72 million shares changing hands.
